Event Preview | Chinese Ethnic Minority Children’s Costume Exhibition
📍 Charing Cross Library
📅 26 January to 30 March 2026
“Where childhood meets diversity.”
The Mothers’ Bridge of Love, in collaboration with Charing Cross Library in London, presents the Chinese Ethnic Minority Children’s Costume Exhibition. With children at its heart and clothing as its language, the exhibition invites the public into a journey woven from childhood, maternal love, and cultural memory.
In many ethnic minority cultures, clothing is more than everyday dress. It is a vessel of history, belief, and blessing. Shaped by generations of migration and the absence of written records, mothers have stitched rivers, mountains, flowers and birds, and heartfelt prayers into their children’s garments, stitch by stitch. The softly chiming silver ornaments symbolise family memory and are also believed to protect children as they grow. These costumes are history worn on the body, and love passed down through generations.
The exhibition combines static display with live presentation:
Sixteen sets of children’s costumes from Chinese ethnic minorities will be exhibited, showcasing a range of techniques including embroidery, batik, brocade weaving, and traditional tailoring.
On 22 February 2026, a special children’s ethnic costume showcase will be held, bringing the garments from display cases onto the stage and allowing them to come alive through children’s movement and smiles.
The exhibition features costumes from a wide range of ethnic groups and regions, including the Miao, Tibetan, Yi, Mongolian, Bai, Zhuang, Tujia, Dong, Manchu, Korean, Hani, and She peoples. From Yunnan and Guizhou to Tibet and Xinjiang, the colours, patterns, and materials reveal rich and distinctive cultural expressions shaped by different landscapes. All exhibits are presented with bilingual Chinese and English titles and descriptions, helping visitors to understand the cultural connections between different ethnic traditions with ease.
The exhibition is hosted at Charing Cross Library, located near London’s Chinatown and one of the largest Chinese public libraries in the United Kingdom. Since the 1980s, the library has continuously provided Chinese-language cultural services for the Chinese community. It is not only a space for reading and learning, but also a place that carries important cultural memory and identity for the Chinese diaspora. As an open public cultural space serving diverse communities, Charing Cross Library has long been committed to fostering cross-cultural exchange and plays an important role in connecting Chinese and British cultures.
As a key part of the Mothers’ Bridge of Love and Charing Cross Library cross-cultural arts programme for 2025 to 2026, this children’s costume exhibition presents cultural continuity and vitality from a childhood perspective. It offers a shared public space where people from different backgrounds can come to understand one another and draw closer.
When children wear traditional costumes, they are wearing history, blessings, and a childhood protected by love.
Families and children are warmly invited to visit the library and begin a gentle journey across cultures and time.
📌 Exhibition Information
Dates | 26 January to 30 March 2026
Venue | Charing Cross Library
Address | 4 to 6 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0HF
Organisers | The Mothers’ Bridge of Love and Charing Cross Library
Curated by | MBL CHX Volunteer Team
